Intolerance of Uncertainty, Emotional Dysregulation, and Health Anxiety: The Moderating Role of Coronavirus-Related Stress

Background: Health anxiety is a psychological problem the behavioral consequences of which can lead to increased referrals to the health care system. This problem can be even more important during the coronavirus pandemic. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate the moderating role of coronavirus-related stress in the relationship of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and emotional dysregulation (ED) with health anxiety. Methods: This web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 403 individuals (54.8% women) with a mean age of 36.3 years. The data collection tools included the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale ‎(DERS), COVID Stress Scale (CSS), and Whitley Index (WI). Hierarchical regression and the Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. Results: The findings revealed that IU and ED explained 32% of the variance in health anxiety. The moderating role of coronavirus-related stress in the relationship of IU and ED with health anxiety was 12% (p < 0.01). In total, the research variables predicted large proportions of variance (R2 ≥ 0.45) in health anxiety. Conclusion: Regarding the specific complicated characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting injuries, coronavirus-related stress (especially its 3 dimensions of danger and contamination fears, traumatic stress symptoms, and compulsive checking) appear to play an important role in health anxiety. In addition, the interaction of coronavirus-related stress with IU and ED significantly predicts an increase in health anxiety. Therefore, to reduce the burden of health anxiety, coronavirus-related stress interventions are required.